CV freshman teams up with Nike to design shoe as a fundraiser for Doernbecher Children's Hospital

Fourteen-year-old Alice Heinz showed up at school Monday morning sporting cool aqua and royal blue Nikes she can be sure no one else has.

That’s because the Crescent Valley High School freshman designed them herself.

As part of a fundraising effort to benefit Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, where she has been a patient, Heinz teamed up with a top Nike designer who provided the basic shoe style — the “Dunk.”

Then Heinz got to go to town with colors, fabrics and graphics.

“It was really cool,” Heinz said. “I thought it was amazing to get a chance to do something a lot of other kids don’t ever think about or get to ever do. It was really cool to have that experience.”

Heinz has been receiving treatment at Doernbecher’s since she was very young. When she was a baby she was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder which causes tumors to grow. With the help of doctors and surgeons at Doernbecher’s, Heinz has been fighting off malignant brain tumors since she was 5 years old.

Now Heinz’s shoe design has the potential to help Doernbecher’s.

For the last three years, Nike has worked with six Doernbecher’s patients each year to design and produce original “Freestyle” sneakers. The shoes are sold online and at select Nike outlets around the country, including Nordstrom in Portland. Thus far, more than $500,000 has been raised for the children’s hospital.

At the Nike Freestyle shoes launch party Saturday night in Portland, bidders jumped at the chance to buy six pairs of the sneakers that had been signed by Tiger Woods.

The amount raised in Saturday’s silent auction has not been revealed by Nike, but at last year’s auction $110,000 was raised from the auction of six pairs of shoes signed by Michael Jordan.

Heinz also received a pair of the shoes she designed with Woods’ signature and three more pairs for her mom, dad and sister.

Her uber-cool sneakers will hit the market in November and they have the potential to sell out fast.

In addition to the striking color combination, a closer look reveals subtle graphic designs of suns, stars, hearts a butterfly, a turtle and more.

Each symbol honors a friend or loved one, or a personal interest, Heinz explained. A dove for her grandmother, a spiral for a cousin with curly hair, stars for Heinz’ interest in astrology and dice and the suits of playing cards for her enjoyment of games.

“This is my favorite, the guinea pig with cheese,” she said. “I have two guinea pigs and I love cheese.”

On the rubber around the top of the soles, each shoe bears the words “Live, Love, Laugh.”

In addition to the rich detail, Heinz may corner a niche market with her choice of colors.

The aqua green she chose is the exact color of the scrubs her mother wears in her work as a midwife at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center.

“She never has anything to wear that matches,” Heinz said. “The green goes with her scrubs.”